The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log » Comedy

Brrrraiiinnnssss!!! Return of the Living Dead returns!

Joe — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:56:09 +0000

Fellow lovers of a bit of fine, macabre, brain-munching comedy-horror rejoice, for Dan (Alien, Dark Star, Blue Thunder) O’Bannon’s 80s classic The Return of the Living Dead is shambling back into life, with a spanking new double edition DVD and its Blu Ray debut (with hours of special features) so you can enjoy the grey matter munching in all its glory. Well before Shaun of the Dead mixed the comedy and horror genres so deftly O’Bannon’s Return of the Living Dead was there offering yuks and yeuchs, from the ravenous hordes attacking a paramedic crew while one decaying corpse picks up their radio and calls in “send more ambulance guys…” to a zombified romeo who has eyes only for his girlfriend’s brains… Yep, not only do some of these zombies move fast (unusual for 80s zombie flicks) they also talk. Although most of them have only one word on their mind: brains!! Brrrraaaiiinnnsssss!

O’Bannon introduces a fun cast, including a pair of hapless heroes who are slowly becoming zombified after inhaling the toxic chemicals from a spilled canister (from the traditional secret military experiment), the doctor unable to find a pulse or respiration and declaring them medically dead even though they are still walking and talking, which, it has to be said, they find a little, er, upsetting. O’Bannon even has his besieged crew attempt to interrogate one captured zombie, trying to find out why the undead want to eat their brains.

It’s colossal fun and rightly become a cult hit with horror fans. Now with the shiny new release on disc coming on June 4th from Second Sight we’ve got three copies of the movie looking for some viewers who delight in their exquisite bad taste for 80s gross out horror-comedy. Just email joe(dot)gordon(at)forbiddenplanet(dot)co(dot)uk with your name and details and the answer to the question what delicacy do our hungry zombies most crave to be in with a chance of winning. Closing date June 4th.

Drawing The Line – Comics, Comedy & Comics

Joe — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:51:58 +0000

The Sixth International Comedy Conference scheduled for the 31st of May and 1st of June at the University of Salford Manchester is going to be covering two different meanings of the term ‘comic’, both the comedian and the graphical forms. Tomorrow is the final call for submissions for the conference. From the description: “Comics can have two meanings – comedians and graphic images. Both make us laugh though in different ways; both sets of ‘comics’ can employ a variety of techniques to make us laugh. Some comics have become films – Asterix, Popeye, Fritz The Cat – and some comics have been filmed and made into comics, Laurel and Hardy, Frank Randle, Beryl Reid (all had regular strips in Film Fun). ‘Drawing The Line’ calls forth for papers on ALL topics concerned with comedy and humour, be it film, TV, cartoon or literature.” Tip of the hat to Dan Berry for pointing out the conference to us.

Alan Moore on the box

Joe — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:01:49 +0000

Well we thought it might have happened last week, but on this week’s episode of the excellent Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle on BBC3 he did indeed have a special guest, a good friend of his, a certain Mr Alan Moore… Aired last night and is available right now (sorry, UK only, I think) to watch on the indispensable BBC iPlayer here.

(screengrab from last night’s Stewart Lee Comedy Vehicle on the BBC, featuring a guest appearance by the Sage of Northampton)

New Mustard Magazine out – comedy at Christmas….

Richard — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 00:01:43 +0000

TV isn’t doing comedy all that well at the moment (Tramadol Nights anyone? Oh dear). So maybe a quality comedy magazine might be the answer. And as luck would have it, Alex Musson has just released a new issue of his comedy mag Mustard.

Personally I have no idea why Musson’s releasing a new issue in the week where practically no-one orders stuff online, where the post is struggling to cope with the yuletide tidal wave of letters and parcels and where we’re all hunkering down in sub zero temperatures and wondering just how high the snow is going to get and whether we’ll be able to get to the shops for sprouts or not.

But here it is – Mustard issue 5. I haven’t got a copy (yet), but based on past experience, I know Mustard is impressive, well designed, a good read and best of all, especially for a magazine about comedy – it’s funny.

Issue 5 promises interviews with Stuart Lee and Richard Herring, articles from Alan Moore and Matt Berry and 36 pages of funny stuff.

And all for just £2.50 – available from the Mustard Shop.

“Don’t call me Shirely”: Leslie Nielsen, RIP

Joe — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:52:13 +0000

Sad to hear of the passing of Leslie Nielsen passing away. Originally a serious actor in dramatic roles he underwent something of a mid-career change after the huge success of the comedy Airplane! and the Police Squad TV spoof series which birthed the Naked Gun movies, all still comedy gold even after endless repeat viewing. And of course we here at FPI also fondly remember Leslie from a much earlier role, as the commander in the seminal science fiction film from which we proudly take our name, Forbidden Planet. RIP, Leslie: you were in one of the most iconic SF movies of all time and in a whole bunch more that made us smile and laugh and that’s no bad way to be remembered.

Norman Lovett in FP Edinburgh today

Joe — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:36:31 +0000

It’s the last weekend of the madness that is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this weekend and as part of the fun Norman Lovett, in town with his own show, lol, which runs until the 30th of August, is going to come in to do a signing in the Edinburgh Forbidden Planet on Southbridge, just a few minutes walk from some of the major Fringe venues, today, Saturday 28th from 4 to 5pm, so please do take the chance to come down and meet him.

Norman Lovett in Edinburgh

Joe — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:24:01 +0000

Norman Lovett has appeared in many things but will always be loved by SF fans for playing Holly, the once all-knowing AI on Red Dwarf, now sadly subject to computer senility after several million years. Norman has also had a very long career as a stand-up and while he’s in an absolutely heaving Edinburgh for the Fringe he’s verykindly going to pay a visit to the Edinburgh Forbidden Planet. Norman will be in our branch on Southbridge (a moment’s walk from the Royal Mile) on Saturday August the 28th from 4 to 5pm, so please do come along and say hi.

Norman’s show – lol – is running at the Gilded Balloon’s Teviot venue at 10.30pm through until the 30th of August (in fact right after Beano artist Kev Sutherland’s Scottish Falsetto Socks show; Kev tells me he is really enjoying handing over to Norman each night). For more details of events, offers and the latest goodies to arrive in your local FPI check out their Facebook groups.

Moore Mustard and the IT Crowd

Richard — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:01:54 +0000

Alex Musson writes in from Mustard central to let us know a couple of things:

“You can now buy a set of six Mustard movie postcards and also, if you’re an Alan Moore fan you might like the desktop wallpaper sized version of the poster I did for The IT Crowd). In other Mustard news, the third set of Daily Mustard pages come out in Dodgem Logic #3″

Yep, cool postcards, cool Alan Moore desktop and Dodgem Logic #3. More details, and the chance to buy the very good Mustard magazine on Alex Musson’s Mustard website.

(Casablanketyblank and Withnail and I, Robot, two of the Mustard postcards)

Bill Hicks’ Day

Joe — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:01:15 +0000

Today is the anniversary of the death of the late, great Bill Hicks, one of the best stand-ups/ranters to ever grace the stage and a major influence on one Jesse Custer in Ennis and Dillon’s brilliant Preacher. With a new documentary on Bill coming up a good its a good time to look back at his comics appearance and have yourself an inventive little comedic rant about morality and world events in his honour today. Go on, you’ll feel better for it. Then go read some Preacher too:

(A dying Bill Hicks on his final tour, saying whatever he damned well pleased and sobering up Jesse Custer’s worldview at the same time in Preacher by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, published DC)

Socks for Christmas

Joe — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:01:56 +0000

Comics creator and Beano regular Kevin F Sutherland’s Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre explain exactly why socks suck as Christmas presents, which is true. On the other hand, much as I love collectable action figures, they don’t keep your tootsies warm!